Wednesday, May 13, 2009

PFLAG National Applauds Introduction of House Stonewall Resolution

PFLAG National applauds Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Barney Frank (D-Mass), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jared Polis (D-CO) for jointly introducing a resolution that would recognize the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall riots, which began June 28, 1969, came in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a New York City bar that was frequented by racially and economically diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The riots are widely seen as the catalyst that started the modern LGBT rights movement.

In a statement Wednesday, Nadler said the events at Stonewall “had a profound effect on how LGBT Americans came to see their struggle for equality. Stonewall catalyzed gay Americans — and those who support their rights — into putting [LGBT] rights on the forefront, out in the open, unafraid and unapologetic,” he said. “We have come very far in the battle for LGBT rights and acceptance since Stonewall, but we still have a ways to go.”

Frank said remembering Stonewall is important as LGBT activists continue to work to advance civil rights. “As we move ahead in the movement for legal equality, it is important to remember those who had the courage to fight hard when things were much tougher,” said Frank.